Misplaced
by MysticJadeShoe
Summary: Harry's thoughts of the Marauders has been tainted as he treks to his final year at Hogwarts. He'd like to meet them...what'll happen when he does?
1. Shifting Positions

**OKAY EVERYONE, Kookybanana reporting for duty! I'm changing the story a bit. The original Lily and James thing will be here, just not right now. It's, uh...I'll let you see! Here! Look!**

* * *

Harry lay his head back and shut his eyes. Ron and Hermione were talking amicably on the seat across from him, practically about to snog. They were coming for their final and seventh year.

After the war, Hermione had made them - even if it said on Harry's resume "defeated Dark Lord", she still wanted all of them to go through their final year. Harry sighed. What was there left to learn? He guessed she wanted to go back for therapeutic reasons. Hogwarts was still their home.

"Yeah, well, you know, Lavender was really a pushover..."

Harry rolled his eyes and walked to the window. He could watch the scenery flick past instead of the now in-progress make-out session. He leaned his head against the glass.

His mind first wandered to the Marauders, as it was prone to do these days.

Ever since the whole ordeal with Snape, his father's shining-idol status had worn down immensly. His memories of Sirius had been tainted. Remus, not so much - he'd tried to apologize for the things he'd done.

If only I could have met my dad, he thought. All I have are Pensieve memories and second-hand accounts of what happened. His hand clutched into a fist.

"Anything from the trolley, dears?"

He smiled. Even now that they were The Infamous Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger, the candy cart lady still treated them like first-years. He wished he could go back to first year. He opened his eyes and turned around.

What he saw made him double back.

The cart was completely empty. The candy trolley lady looked...significantly younger. Ron's initials weren't carved into the wood of the luggage rack. Everything had changed - but what just happened?

"Er..." he started. "I'm fine, actually, thanks."

She shut the compartment door and trooped over to the next one. Harry looked back at the luggage rack - his bags were still there.

This decidedly made no sense. Where were Ron and Hermione?

The compartment door opened again. Harry sighed and turned around, expecting to see maybe George or Ginny yelling "GOT YOU!".

It was not.

Harry was looking straight into a seventeen-year-old boy's hazel eyes. The boy had a pointed nose, recognizable messy black hair, and a roguish grin. He was looking at James Potter.

"Oy, you don't mind if we come in here, do you? All the other compartments have been taken up," he said, holding an owl cage. It contained a snowy owl.

Harry stared for a second. Then, trying to act casual, said, "N-no, not at all."

"Come on, Padfoot!" James yelled. "We've got ourselves a place to stay." He turned and looked at Harry.

"What's your name? I'm James Potter."

"Harry...er, Harry Granger."

Right then, Sirius walked in. "James, move. I can't get in when your fat butt's in the way."

There was a snort near the back and a flash of light brown hair. Remus.

"Yeah, yeah, stop your moanin'." He put his owl up on the luggage rack and sat down. His Head Boy badge flashed with the sun.

Sirius and Remus ambled in, closely followed by - Harry's stomach turned - Peter. His first instinct was to reach out and close his fingers around his throat before he could do any harm - but then he remembered that that could have severe consequences. It was bad enough that he was here - how, exactly, he still didn't know; but killing Peter would rip his future apart. He'd have to keep a tight hold on his anger.

"Don't believe I've seen you here before, Harry," James said amicably.

"I'm a transfer," Harry lied quickly. "From...Durmstrang."

"I've heard that place's no fun," Sirius said, kicked back in his seat. "Do the teachers really hang you by your toenails, if they want to?"

"Er, no."

"Well, then again, Elmer Chang told me that, so it's not too credible." He grinned.

"Pff, well, that's no place for information," Remus stated. "Best stick to the books when it comes to that bloke."

"He told me once that Professor McGonagall has a whole jar of shiny things in her office!" Peter squeaked excitedly, eyes wide. At this the whole compartment burst into laughter.

"That," James gasped, "is why you can't believe Elmer Chang."

* * *

**K, I know it's short, BUT THERE WILL BE MORE. I swear.**

**Remember to R&R! It feeds unicorns!**


	2. Dinner!

**To clarify this, I'm not dissing Snape. At all. I just didn't like it that the Marauders were viewed as bad people in the last book. Yes, Snape IS a hero and that I can't deny. But so was James. I mean, he sacrificed himself to protect the two people he loved most of all - that takes courage and honor. Whereas we have Snape, who automatically took Harry to be EXACTLY LIKE his father because of physical appearance. They both have their strengths and flaws, but overall, I found James more endearing. He's more of a people person and made me giggle, though he does totally have his shallow moments. Snape made me mad for being rather judgemental, but I was proud of the choices he made.**

**I think I cried when I read the part that compared James to a marionette with cut strings.**

**Okay! Emo rant over! Enjoy!**

* * *

As soon as they left the train, Harry split from the rest of them. What was going on? How was this happening? He needed to talk to someone he knew, someone who understood him and would take him seriously...but where could he find that person? No one was going to believe a raving lunatic declaring he had come from the future after defeating You-Know-Who.

Harry was so deep in his thoughts that he almost didn't notice he ran headfirst into a boy with long black hair, making him fall over. He doubled back and ran to the boy's side.

"Oh, geez, sorry! Here, let me help you back up - did I hurt you?"

And then he recognized the boy, the boy with black hair, matching eyes and a hooked nose, donning a Slytherin tie. They stood, facing each other for the first time.

Harry tried for a small smile. "Didn't see you coming through there; sorry about that. I'm Harry, by the way." He offered his hand.

Snape eyed the hand cautiously, eyes flicking to Harry's Gryffindor tie.

"Severus," he said warily.

"Nice to meet you, Severus." He withdrew his hand and shoved it deep in his pocket.

A moment of awkward silence ensued, in which they tried to look anywhere but at the other. Harry tried to speak, but nothing came to him.

"We should...probably get to the castle," he said eventually. Mentally, he smacked himself. Perfect. Just perfect. They turned in unison and started walking over to the bright, warm fortress, depositing Harry with his fruitless thoughts.

Who do I go to? There's no one here who knows the details behind my scar. He wondered briefly if, now, he still had a psychological link with Voldemort. Eventually that got too confusing and he went back to thinking about who to go to. His story was pretty incredible - he doubted even Dumbledore would believe him.

Wait a minute! Dumbledore! He stopped in his tracks, eyes lighting up with this grand idea. If anyone, Dumbledore would believe him. He had to see him right away. At this thought he broke into a run for the castle.

When he finally burst into the Great Hall, he looked for Dumbledore's icy blue eyes, just for a source of comfort in this familiar-yet-foreign place. His eyes fell on the Headmaster's chair. It was empty. Sadly, Harry walked to Gryffindor table, loaded with raucous students catching up with each other since the summer break.

He was hailed by the Marauders.

"Hey, Harry!" James yelled, waving both arms in the air like a cheerleader.

"Yes, you, you bloke!" Sirius declared when Harry pointed at himself questioningly.

"Come sit with us!" Remus said reassuringly, indicating the spot next to him.

"We've got shiny things!" Peter screamed, waving a small jar of bits of metal in the air. As soon as he sat by Remus, James went down on him.

"Why'd you leave us, mate? We were wondering where you went!"

"I went to get my bags. Then I found out that they take 'em in for you, which is really nice. They, er, don't do that at Durmstrang."

"Imagine that," said Sirius. "You have to take 'em in? Sheesh. Those things are heavy."

As the mindless chatter continued, Harry decided to start looking for familiar faces. He started with the staff table, where he was pleased to see Professors McGonagall and Slughorn. At Ravenclaw table, he saw the distinctly faraway face of Xenophilius Lovegood. In Slytherin, he recognized several Death Eaters, among them Bellatrix Lestrange. He didn't recognize anyone from Hufflepuff.

Then he checked Gryffindor table and ran into his own green eyes. The dark red hair was not his, but the softer, less angular features and smile matched his.

Lily Evans was talking happily with a girl with shoulder-blade length brown hair and hazel eyes. She flicked her hair over her shoulder and added a couple of words to the brunette's, who proceeded to clasp a hand over her mouth and giggle. Harry smiled, then looked at James, who had been tapping his shoulder madly for the past two seconds.

"You know Evans?" he asked urgently.

He blinked. "No, she just seems familiar is all...I feel like I've seen her somewhere, like in a photograph or something."

James sighed. "Good," he said, and went back to his discussion with Sirius. Remus turned his head and looked at Harry.

"He's head over heels for her, if you couldn't tell. Kinda blows, because she hates his guts." He grinned. "That hasn't stopped him for seven years, though..."

Harry looked back at Lily; at her smiling face, into her eyes.

"I know people like that," he said, mind wandering towards Ron

Oh, Ron...Hermione...Ginny...I wonder how you're doing...

* * *

**I hope you liked it. :3 R&R!**


	3. You're gonna get in trooooubllle

**Okay, I checked the stats the other day, and this thing got 59 hits. FIFTY-NINE! (Including a person in France! Hi French person!) That's the most I get on a story, other that one time I got 85. Ehh, whatever. It just surprises me that people like the crap I write. (I've had some bad experiences submitting articles...WHY DO YOU HATE ME, SPARKNOTES?)**

**I've also been getting next to nonstop email alerts about faves and story alert subscriptions. *sniff* I'd like to thank you guys. You're keeping me motivated as of right now in writing. (Also, a jedi knight may or may not have broken into my home last night and threatened to tell everyone what happened last summer if I don't keep writing.)**

**Also, tell me if you'd like me to write the next chapter from a Marauder's POV. I'll set up a poll or something. And this isn't a slash story, just to clarify that. Now read!**

* * *

Harry pulled the covers up to his chin drowsily. Still - he couldn't afford to sleep. He hadn't managed to even get Dumbledore to look at him when he finally arrived; he'd just spoken about the traditional rules and named Head Boy and Girl. He gritted his teeth and rolled onto his side, closing his eyes.

It had been a relatively jarring experience to see him so young. It was weird, not in the "Sirius-is-a-teenager" way, but in the "Dumbledore-looks-like-an-adult-but-not" way. He sat back up, realizing he'd forgotten to take off his glasses, so he removed them and put them on the nighttable.

The next morning he watched the owls fly in for the post. It never ceased to make him smile, the mixes of colors and the different-pitch hoots as they fluttered to their owners and handed out letters or parcels. James had just caught ahold of his snowy owl (Arelle) and was wrangling some letters out of her claws.

"Let GO, Arelle! Yeah, you've done your job - now - let - go! You're gonna rip it!" he moaned as the owl glared at his efforts to free the letters. Remus pulled out his wand, lazily Summoned the letters and caught them when they came soaring from her talons.

"Thanks, Moony. And you," James added, staring coldly at Arelle, "can go back to the owlery. No, you get your own bacon - oh, fine." He fed her a couple of bites of his bacon and then sent her back to the owlery.

Sirius ambled over to the table and plunked down noisily next to James. He yawned, showing off his canine teeth, then closed his mouth and looked at Remus. "Erm. What class've we got first?"

"Charms," Remus said, checking his schedule.

"Bother," Sirius replied, pulling some toast near himself. "I know we're off to be Aurors and everything, but I hate Charms. I swear Flitwick's got it in for me."

"Well, maybe you shouldn't have directed that Shrinking Charm at his head third year," Remus countered. "And besides, everyone knows he has the hardest time with Frank Longbottom. Maybe he'll be too distracted to bother you."

"How bad is Frank Longbottom?" Harry asked.

James snorted, Remus grinned, and Sirius held back a chuckle. "Well, Harry, Frank is exceptionally bad at Charms," James explained. "I'll never forget, fourth year, when we were learning the Summoning charm and he Summoned that vase into Flitwick's head -"

"Aw, blimey, it's Evans and Blake," Sirius muttered darkly. "I thought I'd be able to speak to my best friend today..."

Harry looked around and there were the two girls from last night - Lily and the brunette. James was sneaking glances at Lily; she was blatantly ignoring him as the brunette found a couple of spots for them to sit. Harry looked back at Sirius.

Sirius was looking very sulky and was unusually absorbed in his schedule, grey eyes focused on the text, but Harry could see that he wasn't reading at all. Just then, Peter toddled up to the table, still clutching a jar of bits of metal in his pudgy fingers.

"James, I found five more shiny things in my trunk!" he squealed excitedly, brandishing the jar in James' face.

"Oh, that's...great, Peter," he replied, pushing the jar out of his face. "The number of shiny thins just went up, though...I need fifty. Can you do that?"

Peter stepped back, eyes resolute. "I can do it, James! I CAN GET THE SHINY THINGS!" he decreed for the Great Hall to hear. He waddled away, flying to the outer grounds where there were thousands of shiny things to catch.

"We do that to keep him out of the way," Sirius whispered as soon as the hall got back to their usual doings. "Ever since he started following us around first year..." He sighed and looked back at his schedule.

In their first class, Charms, Harry was completely shocked to find his name on the roll.

"Harry Granger?" Professor Flitwick squeaked, looking through the classroom over his spectacles. Remus nudged him gently.

"Oh, present!" Harry said, looking up from his book.

"Hmm, I don't believe I've seen you here before, Harry," Flitwick said suddenly. "I've heard you're a transfer from..." He consulted his papers quickly, then finished, "Durmstrang?"

"Y-yeah, that's me."

"Pleasant," he said sincerely, then continued the roll. As they practiced the Protean charm on some dinner mints, Harry wondered why the heck his name was even there, or why Flitwick said he was a transfer from Durmstrang when he'd only told the Marauders.

McGonagall, he found, hadn't changed a bit.

"Today we will be going deeper into study of Animagi," she said, facing the classroom. "I expect all of you to be paying close attention as there may or may not be a pop quiz coming up very soon."

Everyone groaned and took out their books. As McGonagall explained the concept and method, he heard James and Sirius snickering slightly. He rolled his eyes. As soon as she explained the difference between werewolf and Animagus in deeper form, James snorted very loudly at the back of the classroom.

McGonagall's eyes locked on James with the icy glare Harry knew all too well - it was when you got in trouble that she gave you that look. She walked to the middle of the classroom where James was looking innocently at his Seventh Year Transfiguration book.

"Mister Potter?" she asked coldly.

He looked up from his book. "Yes, Professor?" he replied innocently.

"I explained clearly at the beginning of class that I needed you to pay attention. Did I not make myself clear?"

"You did, Professor." Almost boldly.

"Then you must pay attention to what I am saying. Five points from Gryffindor, and you'll be having detention if you keep up your raucous behavior." She strode back to the front of the class and continued explaining.

In the middle of various methods people used to make the process easier, Harry felt something smack him on the head, loudly. It stuck in his hair. He pulled it out and saw it was a paper airplane.

When he looked up, most everyone was looking at him, including Professor McGonagall. She walked toward him and took the paper airplane, unfolded it, read it, and asked, "Do you know who...sent this to you, Mister Granger?"

Harry shook his head. He didn't know who had sent it, but he had some suspicions.

"Hmm." She crushed the note and put it in the trashcan, then continued with the lesson.

In the back, he heard James snickering slightly.

* * *

**Okay! Out for now! I hope you liked this chapter! :)**


	4. Scheming

**I'm such an awful writer. I keep you faithful readers waiting for...like, EVER.**

**This is written from Sirius' point of view (he won the poll), and I hope you enjoy it. Once again, to clarify, this is NOT a slash fic. You might think so from this chapter, but this is honestly just friendly teasing and friendship.**

**Remember what I said about James some time ago? Well, when it comes to him vs. Sirius, I pick Sirius every time. Sorry.**

**Also - 222 hits? Oh, guys, this is AWESOME. *riding around on Cloud Nine and throwing Snargaluff pods at people***

**And, Parteh Parteh Babeh? *throws a fluffy pink slipper at you* HAH! You can't catch me! NEVERRRR!**

**...Anyway, you should read my story.**

**

* * *

**

It was a few weeks after the new term started. Finally, I slumped into bed one Friday night and shut my eyes.

It seemed like it was only five minutes later there was an annoying voice in my ear.

"Paaaaaadfoooot..."

I reached up and smacked James across the face.

"OW! What'd you do THAT for, you git?"

"You woke me up earlier than noon on a Saturday, that's what," I muttered. "Honestly, James. You should know this by now."

I opened my eyes and glanced at him. His glasses were hanging off his ear, he was holding his nose and glaring at me.

"Git," he repeated, voice muffled through his hands. "I was waking you up because we need two new Chasers and a Beater and Quidditch tryouts are today..."

"Oh, snap." Remembering that I needed to judge with James, I pushed the blankets away and swung my legs over the edge of the bed. Harry, Remus and Peter were all sitting on their beds.

"...but not for another two hours." The grin that crossed James' face was unholy. He slipped his glasses on his nose. I decided now would be a good time to tackle him, so I did.

"Sheesh, get a room, you two," Remus muttered sarcastically. Harry laughed, his voice ringing through the room and hurting my ears.

Hey, it'd hurt your ears too if you'd only just gotten up.

Prongs took the opportunity to grab my wrists with one hand and try to tickle me with the other. I tossed him off and stood back up, brushing James germs off of my clothes.

"Alrighty, James. I give up. Why'd you wake me up at such an unholy hour?" I asked, glancing at the clock.

He pulled himself into a sitting position. "Well, I was thinking of a little Marauding," he said in a low tone so Harry wouldn't hear. "It's two days to the full moon, so I was thinking of having some fun."

I surveyed him suspiciously. "How do I know you're not going to trotting after Evans with doe eyes?" Remus snorted - at least he got the joke.

"First off, I'm not sure how that'd be possible," he replied, slightly miffed. Remus snorted again. "But what do you mean?"

"You've been staring at her more than usual lately. Even when I'm trying to tell you something important." I was starting to get annoyed - more so, that is.

"Sirius, I ALWAYS look at Evans. And what, you don't ever look ar Piper Blake or Marlene McKinnon or someone or other?"

Okay, now he'd hit a nerve. I barely knew either of them, and I wasn't the man-slut of Hogwarts, as much as some girls wished I was.

"Can it, James," I replied through my teeth.

"Oh, come on, Sirius. You do stare at girls." Then something quirked his mouth. "Unless you're gay and you never told me your true feelings for me...it would explain why you're jealous of Evans."

I spluttered. "Me GAY for YOU? JEALOUS of Evans?" Now I was furious, and it showed. Nothing mattered right now except that James was being impractical and a total -

"I think you both need to step away for a second," Remus said clearly, all of a sudden standing between us. "Before either of you do something you'll regret." He was looking pointedly at me - so what if I had violent tendencies?

"Come with me for a sec, Padfoot," he said, grabbing my arm. "Let's head to the kitchens or something." I tried to pull away, but his grip was firm, and he managed to drag me out of the boys' dorms, out the common room, down seven floors, and through the portrait to the kitchens.

Several house-elves hailed us upon entrance; they knew us all too well. He guided me to a table, and I followed blindly. An elf named Baubles brought us a few mugs of chilled pumpkin juice.

"Sirius..." he started. His brow furrowed, like he was trying to figure out what to say, but he wasn't. It wasn't possible. He wouldn't be Remus if he did.

"What, are you saying James is blameless?" I asked.

"I didn't even say anything. I was going to tell you that James IS being a pain."

I blinked. Moony was taking my side?

"He has been looking at Lily a lot more lately. It's been driving both me and Peter insane as well." He put his fingers together in an evil-planning-overlord sort of way. "I asked you to come here because we need to make a plan."

A grin was crossing my face, I couldn't help it.

"Okay," I said, slowly. "If an evil plan's what you want...I'm your man."

* * *

James was still sitting on the floor, staring off at the door.

"I can't believe him. I have NOT been staring at Evans more. I mean, how would he know?"

Harry was trying to interest himself in the pattern on his bedsheets, but couldn't. What was happening now reminded him of his fight with Ron in fourth year - they would have very nearly stopped being mates if it wasn't because Harry had to fight a dragon.

"You...have been spending lots more time with Lily," Peter said shyly. Harry was shocked - Peter would never say a word against James, ever.

"Oh, what would you know, Peter?" he snapped. "You're not having the breakthrough of the century!" Then his eyes widened and he clapped a hand over his mouth.

"You what?" asked Harry, suddenly intrigued.

James looked like he wanted to slam his head into the nearest wall.

"Okay, Harry, I'll tell you," he said quietly, "but you have to promise not to tell anyone. Anyone at all." He nodded and James took a deep breath.

"Fine. Evans...Lily...has been needing help with her Potions...and what with Snivelly having left her, she's needed some help." He shrugged.

"Don't call Severus that," Harry said. "But continue."

"I'm not one to brag -" here Harry snorted "- but I'm decent with a cauldron, so I offered to help. I was counting on her to shoot me down, but I think she was starting to get desperate, so she accepted. I've been helping her since the first day of term, and she started to warm up to me.

"So we actually talk now and all, and I don't want to risk losing her after finally establishing a connection."

Harry smirked. "So that's why you've been so innatentive lately...I think I have a philosphy to teach you that's not easy to remember sometimes." He was going to get to teach his dad. This was weird.

"What's that?"

"Bros before hos."

* * *

**I didn't like this chapter that much, but I DID like that line very much. I'm not calling Lily a ho, but I think James might've had a tendency to foget about his friends for a while and that could cause problems.**

**Don't forget to R&R! I think this chapter could have been better, but if you liked it please tell me. Andi out.**


	5. Arf?

**Me: *singing* ONE LIKES TO BELEEEIVE IN THE FREEDOM OF MUUSIC! *rocks out with air guitar then notices you* Oh - *coughstutterblush* - hi! Eherm, uh, so...**

**Sirius: How 'bout you shut up?**

**Me: Once you give me the copyrights to the book series in which you currently reside!**

**Sirius: ...I hate you, you know that? I hope you get eaten by a dragon and stepped on by a hippogriff and bitten by a basalisk -**

**James: Hey, HEY! If anyone, I need to take care of her! Look at what she's putting me through!**

**Me: Please, boys. There's plenty for everyone.**

**James and Sirius: ...**

**Me: Anyway, I need to thank RabidWrackspurt for keeping me out of the doldrums of Writer's Block and making me giggle. And as a random side note, LET THE STARKIDPOTTER REFERENCES BEGIN!**

* * *

Harry was walking briskly down the hall. There was no more time to waste - he needed to talk to Dumbledore, now. A few minutes earlier, he had realized how much he'd forgotten the hallways. Harry inhaled deeply, for it was now time to do something that no self-respecting male likes to do.

He quickly tapped a random girl on the shoulder. "Excuse me, do you know where I can find the Headmaster's office?" he asked through his teeth.

She turned around to look at him; he recognized her as the girl that hung out with Lily. "Oh, the gargoyle on the third floor."

"Thanks," he said quickly and turned to leave. She stopped him.

"I haven't seen you around here much before. What's your name?" she asked curiously.

"That would be because I'm a transfer from Durmstrang. My name's Harry Granger."

"Granger," she muttered. "That's a Muggle name. Are you a Muggleborn, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Half-blood."

"Oh, so you have a parent in the Wizarding world? I'm a Muggleborn, so...I don't really know what that would be like." She shrugged, then smiled. "Alright, see you around then, Harry."

He nodded, then ran down the hall for the staircase. That there was why he didn't like asking for directions - one could get caught up talking and completely lose sight of their goal. But no - he HAD to talk to Dumbledore. This was way too important. He started up the stairs.

Once again, he forgot the fake stair.

"AAAAGH!"

He was now trying in vain to pull his leg out of the floor, but it was no use. To get out of there someone had to pull you. At this point, he was cursing the fact that Hogwarts didn't have an elevator.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't a stranded Gryffindor..." said a silky voice behind him. Harry tried to turn his head all the way around to see who was talking to him; he didn't have to. A Slytherin seventh year walked in front of him, holding a wand. "So. You got caught in the fake stair."

Harry gritted his teeth. _Isn't this just wonderful?_ he thought dourly. Several more people behind him laughed, and he knew he was in trouble. He could hear it now: "Ever heard of the Harry Granger incident?"

"Sev, how'd you like to do it?" the Slytherin asked, looking over Harry's head. "His blood's filthy enough, don't you think?"

More laughter. Harry was trying to reach his wand, but it was in his back pocket, wedged between his butt and the stair. Mentally, he smacked himself.

Snape walked in front of Harry, not even flinching when Harry shot him a glare. He drew his wand and pointed it at his nose.

"Cru -"

"What's going on here?"

Snape stiffened and turned around; Lily was at the top of the staircase. Harry breathed a sigh of relief.

"N-nothing."

"Of course it's nothing, because when people do nothing, they go pointing their wands at other defenseless people," she replied sarcastically, crossing her arms. "Back off. As in all of you. I can go get a teacher, if you like."

Slowly and angrily, the Slytherins dispersed out the other door. Lily sighed and walked down the stairs, pulling Harry out of the trick step.

"Sorry no one told you about that," she said sincerely.

"It's no problem," Harry replied. "Thanks for saving my neck there."

"Yeah, no problem." She looked at him, then a confused frown tugged at the corners of her mouth.

"What?" he asked, wondering if perhaps the process of being pulled out of the stair had done something to his belt.

"Nothing, it's just..." she paused, then, "you look a lot like James Potter. Are you related?"

"No!" he replied quickly. "I only just met James, really."

"Oh," she said, a little confused. "Well, I have an important meeting with Professor McGonagall...so, I'll see you around, Harry."

"You too." She walked out of the opposite doorway. As soon as she left, he raced up the stairs and banged out the door. What time was it? Was it too late to talk to the Headmaster? Worry began to cloud his mind - if only he'd remembered to step over the trick step, he wouldn't be in such trouble!

At long last, he reached the third floor and nearly missed the gargoyle. Backtracking, he ran in front of it and opened his mouth to speak the password.

Then it occurred to him that he didn't know it.

_Oh Merlin oh Merlin oh Merlin no..._ he thought, furrowing his brow and thinking of possible passwords to the office. What could he do? Dumbledore usually liked to use types of candy...

"Fizzing Whizbees?"

The gargoyle stayed still.

"Chocolate Frogs?"

It still didn't move.

"Cockroach Clusters? Chocolate Cauldrons? Licorice Wands?"

He was really starting to get desperate.

"Red Vines? Doublestuff Oreos? Reeses Pieces?"

"Here's a hint: none of the things you just said are the password," the gargoyle said, startling Harry a bit.

He was starting to lose it now.

The gargoyle jumped aside and let Dumbledore out just as Harry yelled "PROTEIN SHAKES, FALCON EGGS AND ROCKS?"

"...Hello, Mr. Granger," Dumbledore said, a smile twitching his mustache.

Harry blushed a deep crimson. "Hello, Professor," he said meekly.

"May I ask why you were trying to enter my office? Otherwise I am mistaken and you and the gargoyle here were discussing the diet of a strange body-builder."

"N-no, Professor, I need to speak with you. It's important."

He raised a bushy eyebrow quizzically. Harry did his best to look pathetic and helpless (though he had reason to believe it didn't work, judging my the fact that Dumbledore's mustache began twitching again).

"Alright, Mr. Granger. Please step inside my office."

* * *

"Do you have that thing?"

"Yeah, I got it," Sirius said, an evil grin pasted on his face. "Do you have the other thing?"

"I do. But I'm not sure how this is going to work," Remus replied.

"It'll work; it's foolproof," Sirius spoke, injured. "Besides, it was that or you get a girlfriend."

"Touché. I just don't think I'll ever live this down."

"D'you want Prongs back or what?"

"Fine," Remus moaned, and he slipped the puppy-eared headband on. Sirius did the same. Sitting across from each other on their beds, the two began to bark repeatedly at the other, yelping and whining.

"Remind me again what this is supposed to do."

"Remus, this is a highly tactical mission."

"Meaning: we're going to do weird things until we get James' attention."

"Exactly. Now keep barking."

They continued to do so until James walked into the room, tie slightly undone, a lovesick look in his hazel eyes. He walked right past Remus and Sirius, not even noticing their act. He flopped down onto his bed and sighed.

Sirius stared at Remus, then back at James. It was time to come up with a new plan, apparently...

* * *

**I think this is the longest chapter... Anyway, please R&R!**


	6. Well, this could be a problem

**Someday, I will visit Wizarding World of Harry Potter.**

**Today is not that day. Enjoy - there will be more Sirius and Remus bothering James this chapter!**

**[NOTE: blah blah don't own these people if I did Merlin knows what would happen blah blah blah]**

* * *

"And you just happened to go back in time, am I getting this right?" Dumbledore asked, surveying Harry skeptically over the rims of his glasses.

"That's correct," Harry replied, trying to act confident (and not in the least bit insane).

Dumbledore stood up and walked over to Fawkes, stroking his brilliant red plumage (though it was beginning to fade a bit). "How can I know you are truly being honest with me, Mr. Granger?"

Harry spluttered. "Professor, look at me - I have James Potter's hair and Lily Evans' face and eyes. This scar on my forehead is because of an attack I recieved from Tom Riddle."

His eyes lit up and he looked at Harry, inquisitive. "James Potter and Lily Evans..." he chuckled. "Allow me to see that scar, Mr. Granger."

"Potter," Harry corrected him, pulling his thick hair away from the lightning-bolt.

Dumbledore walked away from Fawkes and leaned over the desk to get a better look. He traced the scar with his finger, then withdrew his wand and pointed it at him.

"Specialis Revelio."

He wasn't positive of what Dumbledore had seen, but he drew back, obviously impressed.

"Quite interesting, Mr. ...Potter. It seems that, at one point, you had a piece of someone else's soul within you."

"Tom Riddle made me into a Horcrux by accident, Professor."

"And how did he do that?"

Harry opened his mouth to speak, then froze. If he told Dumbledore...it was too great of a risk. "I...I don't know, Professor. It happened when I was a baby still."

"Hmm." He walked back to Fawkes, stroking the red feathers lightly with his fingers, eyebrow furrowed in a thoughtful look. Fawkes looked at Harry and cocked his head.

"And you got here by accident? No Time-Turner or anything else?"

"Yes, sir."

"Then we must do something about this," he said quickly. "We're not sure of the things you could be doing to your own time and what you may have risked by telling me - though that was a wise move on your part. Your future could be being ruined as we speak."

Harry decidedly didn't like the sound of that.

* * *

"That didn't WORK?"

"Honestly," Remus muttered, rolling his eyes. "We sit, acting barking mad -"

"I see what you did there," Sirius laughed.

"- no pun intended," Remus replied through gritted teeth, "only for him to completely ignore us. What has gotten INTO him?"

"Pssh, I dunno. But this plan will get him for sure," he said, smiling still. "He won't not notice BOTH of us gone missing!"

"I'm really, really worried about the outcomes of this plan."

"It's not like we'll be hiding under our beds for five years, Moony. Just until he notices we're not there and starts freaking out and tries to Summon us."

Remus chuckled at the mental image he got of Sirius flying across the Common Room towards a confused-looking James.

"What're you laughing about? Anyhow," Sirius continued, "obviously our first attempt was too obvious, so now we need to act more subtle. If he's not a complete idiot he'll find us in two seconds flat. And we have tons of Huneydukes under the bed, so we won't go hungry."

With these words in mind, the two slipped swiftly under their respective beds, both hoping James wasn't actually going to be a complete idiot.

This is how it went (according to Sirius, so it may be a bit biased):

**5:15 PM:** James enters the boy's dorms again after taking a quick trip to the bathroom. He flops down on his bed, sighing longingly, as Sirius rolls his eyes.

**5:17 PM:** Remus begins to realize he should have taken a trip to the bathroom before this started or held off on the water at dinner.

**5:22 PM:** Sirius downs his sixth Chocolate Frog, having opened the package as loudly as possible. James takes no notice.

**5:30 PM: **Peter dashes in with a jar of shiny things for James. He takes absolutely no notice, thus making Peter run away in tears screaming about having no friends. Sirius has to hold his breath to keep from laughing, and Remus almost pees himself doing the same.

**5:40 PM:** James is still laying on his bed daydreaming. Remus still needs to go to the bathroom. Sirius becomes five thousand times more awesome, leeching off that Muggle Chuck Norris' awesomeness.

**5:43 PM:** Lily, of all people, walks in after checking to make sure no one is there. She greets James warmly, thus freaking out two Marauders.

**5:48 PM:** After five minutes of talking about random stuff, Lily flaunts out of the room. James stares at her butt as she leaves and Sirius almost throws the bed at him. Remus really needs to go to the bathroom.

**6:00 PM:** Sirius is getting bored and Remus is considering getting up and leaving to go to the bathroom (since James won't notice anyway).

**6:05 PM:** Moony scrapes up his courage, slips out from under his bed and walks to the bathroom. James doesn't give a second look.

**6:13 PM:** Remus struts back in and slides back under the bed. Sirius is starting to wonder if James is still daydreaming. Perhaps he fell asleep or died while they weren't looking.

**6:20 PM:** Complete and total boredom as Sirius sucks out other people's awesomeness.

This went on for another three hours until Moony and Padfoot fell asleep.

**Plan B:** Complete and total fail.


	7. Curling Iron

**OHMYROWLING I want to have a fanfiction face-off so bad right now. GIVE ME A PROMPT, I WILL WRITE IT FOR YOU. That's it, I want to write, so the first person who reviews this will get to make me write something for them! (I don't do yaoi...I'm pretty much a religious canon-shipper. xD)**

**Eherm, anyway, sorry for taking five years to update. I feel so bad. T.T**

**Anyhow, this happens about four hours after Remus and Sirius fall asleep, so it's roughly ten o'clock.**

* * *

Harry, at long last, arrived in the Gryffindor Common room and sat down in a chair. He rubbed the soft material with his fingers, eyes half-open as he recollected his conversation with Dumbledore.

They really hadn't gotten anywhere, as there was the whole "how-to-get-back-to-the-present" thing to consider. After hours of fruitless thought and speech, Dumbledore had sent Harry away, telling him to wait it out for now and try not to make waves.

Mm. Sleep sounds good, he thought blearily as he shifted a bit in the chair to accompany his head. He didn't think to take off his glasses as sleep started to claim him as its own...

"WHAT THE BLOODY - " Harry started and winced - "ARE YOU IDIOTS DOING?"

"Just trying to wake you up!"

"I DON'T NEED WAKING UP!"

"Oh really?"

He sighed and slipped out of the chair. Then, catlike, he sneaked up the boys' stairs and opened the door.

The sight made him clap a hand over his face.

James was standing on his knees on his bed, a look of outrage on his face; Sirius was holding some Muggle mascara (Harry could see some smeared on James' face) and laughing his head off; Remus was clutching his stomach and laughing with Sirius; Peter was hiding under a bed.

Sirius wiped a tear from his eyes. "Ahehe... hehehh... eherm... Anyway, James, Remus and I wanted to talk to you. It's important."

"You could have done that WITHOUT THE BLOODY MASKRUH." Harry chuckled slightly at his father's attempt at saying the word.

"If you wanted us to dump a cold bucket of water on your face to get your attention, sure, we could have gone without the mascara," Remus said. "But as it was, you were stuck in a trance and putting something slimy on your face that wasn't a flobberworm was the only way to get your attention."

Sirius snorted, then, seeing the expression on his best friend's face, wiped the grin off his face and sat down. "We wanted to remind you that the full moon is tomorrow, for starters. And secondly... well... sit down, James."

James started to sit when he checked his watch. The color drained from his face.

"Merlin, I'm late!" he yelled, startling Harry and Remus. "I forgot I had detention with Slughorn at nine! Be right back, mates..."

With that he grabbed a pair of robes and dashed out the door, nearly knocking Harry over (luckily he was still holding the doorknob). He pulled himself to his feet and walked into the dorms.

Sirius' expression was almost comically infuriated. "What. The. Bloody. Spell."

"It almost seems like he's trying to avoid us," Remus agreed, putting on his thoughtful face.

Harry smiled. "You mean he hasn't told you yet?"

Two pairs of eyes were on him instantly. "Told us what?" they asked in unison.

"I can't tell you; I promised not to tell. But I would start bothering him about what he's not telling you." He yawned. "Argh. What time is it?"

"Ten twenty-two," Remus replied.

"Oof. I'm off to bed then..."

Which, obviously, was leaving Remus and Sirius staring at each other with quizzical expressions.

* * *

**Sirius' POV**

The next day, James was slogging around like a zombie with Remus and me following him around.

"What aren't you telling us, huh?"

"I thought we were your friends!"

"I thought you were my best friend who didn't keep anything from me!"

"Come on, what is it?"

James lifted two books up and pressed them over his ears. "Mmm. Much better. Now I don't have to listen to you bufoons and I can catch some sleep..." He sat down at Gryffindor table, planted his head on the cool surface of the tabletop, and started trying to sleep.

Well, I couldn't have that. I started poking his back furiously. Soon enough, Remus had joined in, grinning like a madman.

James groaned. He said something that sounded like "rude muffin", then continued to snore, sounding like a hippogriff stuck in a leaf blower. Remus pulled out his wand and pointed at his head.

Before I could stop him, a spell had shot out of the tip, smacking James' head and waking him up.

"Moony!" he complained, rubbing his head where the spell had shot it. As soon as I realized the spell's effect on his hair, laughter tried to erupt from my throat, but I managed to swallow it down.

"James." Miraculously, Remus was keeping a straight face. "Tell us what you're hiding from us."

"Nothing!"

He was oblivious to the snorts and giggles around him.

Remus was giving him The Stare That Lets You Know He's Less Than Happy With You. "James."

"Remus."

"JAMES?" a girl's voice yelled from across the table.

"Lily?" he yelled back

"Merlin..." I moaned.

"Remus?" Harry asked, sitting next to Remus (and wondering what was going on, no doubt).

"PETER!" Peter squeaked. Several Gryffindors snorted Ovaltine out their noses.

Across the hall stood Lily Evans, a hand over her perfect mouth as she tried not to giggle. "Ahh... haha... James? Have you looked... in a mirror recently?"

James' eyebrow quirked quizzically. "No, not really. Why?"

Several more Gryffindors chuckled, knowing that Lily meant an insult. I knew it; they did. But James didn't seem to get it. Was he thicker than I thought?

"James, mate, you really ought to," I said, lightly tossing his shiny, straight, clean, pretty long blonde hair.

Remus looked a little too pleased with himself. A slight smirk was dancing across his mouth as he became suddenly absorbed in his study schedule.

The tables around us started to take notice, especially Slytherin table, who began to point and laugh outright. I shot a glare in their direction, but I could barely do it. It was ridiculous.

Meanwhile, James was touching his hair, looking at it, appaled. He opened his mouth to speak.

A squeak was all that came out.

The Great Hall burst into laughter.

* * *

**I didn't like this chapter much at all. I blame Jason Munday and his music that makes me jealous of his talent! *hides***


	8. Author's Note

Sorry to make an author's note...

Bah. I have an awful disease known as "writer's block", which is much feared and scorned around here. I'm working on several projects on which I am not stuck, but this has really thrown me something that I can't handle very well - writing something that people _like._

So, until my writer's block clears up, this story won't get updated all too often. Sorry! I'm just stuck!

If you have a cure for this disease, TELL ME.

Banana out.


	9. Windows

**Tried hard and threw this out of my ear.**  
**I don't own JK Rowling or Harry Potter. *SAD FACE***  
**Reminder: NOT YAOI. Just close friends. And believe me, close friends do this.**

* * *

The gentle swish of James' cauldron handle sounded loud in Harry's ears.

"Now gently add the diced Mooncalf eyes - gently, Longbottom -"

Sirius cast a glance at James, a smile darting across the lines of his face. James was clearly trying not to grin, much less laugh.

"- and now that that's over, for more directions, please turn your books to page 544 -"

Red-faced, James pulled out his Potions book, quickly burying his nose in it. Even Lily had a hand over her mouth. Sirius turned back to his cauldron, still trying not to laugh, coughing loudly instead. Remus, Sirius' potions partner, had pursed his lips, clearly trying to stop a bad case of the giggles as well.

"Harry, go to 544," Piper whispered, stirring the caulrdon.

"Wha?" asked Harry, startled. "Oh, yeah. Sorry." He pulled the book out of his bag and flipped the pages to his destination.

Now that the diced eyes of Mooncalf have been added, stir very gently: precisely 500 stirs...

James snorted, and Harry lost concentration again, so he kicked his shin under the desk... which turned out to be a bad decision, as James snorted and faceplanted into the book next to Sirius' cauldron.

"Mr Potter, do you find Potions amusing?" Slughorn asked waspishly, looking up from a Slytherin's cauldron.

James pulled his face up off the book, nervously gulped down his laughter and wiped the grin off his face. "No, sir."

"Then continue working on your potion, and please, no more interruptions."

"Yessir."

Sirius exhaled with relief, casting a sideways glance at James before stirring some more.

Harry made a mental note: Never kick James again. Bad idea.

Also: James is oddly good at taking jokes.

He distinctly recalled looking at James' astonished face in the Great Hall upon further review of his reflection (he'd cast a mirror charm). After a long, awkward silence, he had burst into laughter and started clapping Remus on the back. Remus didn't know how to respond to this, so he had just started laughing along with him. Eventually the entire Gryffindor table had found themselves in an uproar and McGonagall had to calm them all down. Sirius and James were still in for bad cases of the giggles, but other than that, no damage had been done.

Piper nudged his leg under the desk. "Now what do I do? I've stirred it 500 times."

"Oh, right - add the powdered flobberworm," Harry said, barely paying attention. She picked up a small bottle and began to dust the potion lightly with it. Sirius and James were still snickering lightly, and she shook her head.

After Potions class, the dynamic duo were the first out of the dungeons, happily making their way up to the fifth floor.

Note to self: Sirius and James are like twins.

"You looked soooo lovely with beautiful hair, James. I would have snogged you there and then if not for your ugly face!" Sirius jested, climbing up the stairway.

"Takes one to know one, doesn't it, Sirius? And sometimes I mistake you for a girl from the back," James shot back.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means your hair is beautiful and shiny, and you have a lovely figure."

"Since when have you been taking notice?"

"I've taken it upon myself to do so!"

"Oh, James, it's always been you, you, you!"

"I'm sorry, Padfoot. It wouldn't work. You're not my type."

"Well, boo-hoo. Woe is me. Will my heart ever heal?"

"Short answer: No," Remus cut in, walking between them. "Now, will you lovebirds shut up?" After Sirius promised to keep his mouth shut, Remus looked at James. "Now, what is it you're hiding?"

"What would I be hiding from you, Moony?" James asked offhandedly.

"Better question: what wouldn't you? Honestly, there was that whole incident with the griffin third year that you didn't say a peep about."

Harry briefly pondered how much Sirius hadn't told him about his father's teenage years.

"That was because the incident was entirely embarassing and a huge blow to my ego, remember?"

"Moony, we'll corner him after class, alright?" Sirius said, putting a hand on Remus' shoulder, "If it bothers you that much. We've got free period next."

Looking defeated, Remus nodded. "Fine."

* * *

**Sirius POV**

After class, I grabbed Moony and Prongs by the collars and dragged them to the common room. As soon as we were there, I let go and turned around to look at Prongs.

"Well, Prongsy? Whatcha got to tell us?"

James was smiling a bit. "Who told you I was hiding something?"

"Harry," Remus said quickly, standing next to him and crossing his arms. "He didn't tell us what, exactly. Just that you had a secret."

"If it's got anything to do with a griffin, I promise not to laugh," I said jokingly. James glared at me and smacked me on the head.

"Nothing to do with a griffin, or a hippogriff for that matter. Something to do with a werelion." He smirked.

Werelion was our code name for Evans.

"Explain yourself..." I poked his chest, "now."

* * *

**Harry POV - Third Person**

Harry was just walking. No where in particular... he didn't have a place to go. It felt odd not to have Ron and Hermione bickering with him, or Ginny's hand in his, or Seamus telling far-off tales of clowns and storm drains...

"Hey, want some bubblegum?"

"Dean?" he asked, turning to look at his questionner.

It was Lily. "Well, my name's not Dean. But you knew that, right?"

He flushed. "Yeah. Sorry. Just mistook you for someone I know."

"It's alright," she replied, laughing. "But it's Drooble's Best. You want some?"

"Eh, why not." He took some of the offered gum and popped it in his mouth.

"So... Harry. Are you an only child?"

"Yep."

"That's got to be awesome. I have a sister, see... she's really a git, but you didn't hear that from me..."

"Being an only child is kind of lonely, actually."

"So is having Petunia for a sister." She shrugged. "Hey, you want to do something fun? If I stay inside one more day I'll go stir-crazy."

"Er, well..."

"Great! Get your broom and I'll meet you outside."

And in a blink she had dashed off. Harry blinked again: was she that spontaneous? Sirius had certainly forgotten to mention that. He turned to go up the stairs to the Gryffindor dorms.

As soon as he arrived he saw James poking Sirius face. Sirius was yelling, and Remus was cheering James on. Deciding not to intervene, he ran up the stairs to the boys' dorms to get his Nimbus.

Yes, he did have a Nimbus. Hagrid had insisted that it was his fault Harry had lost his Firebolt rather than his own and wouldn't let Harry say no to the broom he had purchased.

He pulled the broom out from under his bed, still untouched by the outside air or a Quidditch game. Ultimately he could say that it was a broom one could only get in Bulgaria... He wondered what it would be like to fly out one of the windows.

He'd thought about it before, but never actually done it. He popped the window open and felt the remaining summer warmth blow onto his face.

"Why not."

And Harry rocketed out the window.

* * *

**Okay, I am not not not not setting these two up for shipping. That would just be creeepy. I adore Harry/Ginny to a fault, I just think Harry needs a kick in the face every once in a while to keep him from going emo. Nobody kicked him in the face fifth year... *cough***

**Reviews? Good? Not good? Tell mee. I feel like my story is just getting worse as time goes on. T.T**


	10. Different Ideas

**Hey guys, it's me again to shoot you a quick update! Won't be long, I'm afraid... I blame Jason Munday for this spur of creativity. I am blaming Jason for everything, down to the fact that I have brown hair. CURSE YOOOU JASON!**

**I don't own Harry Potter, no matter how much I wish I do. It will neveer be mine (until I convince everyone that I am Rowling's long-lost child! Mwahahaha!). Quite a few references in this one, and not all of them AVPM - if you can catch them you get brownie points.**

**Starting with Sirius POV this time, enjoy! And happy Pi Day!**

* * *

"Why didn't you tell us?" I asked.

"I thought you'd think I was kidding! Ow, too much thinking," James replied defensively.

"Why would we do that? And stop poking my face, you thinking thinker!"

"Because you're evil gits that are out to ruin my life, and never, you... you pondering ponderer!"

Remus chuckled audibly. "Hence the Hippogriff incident? Poke faster, Prongs."

"But seeeriously, why didn't you tell us? We have our own romantic adventures to tell you about!" I said, slapping his hand away.

"That is highly illogical," said Remus automatically. "I have no idea what you are talking about."

"Sure you don't, Moony. I didn't catch you and Gertrude Trevolry snogging."

James' head turned to face him, eyes bugging out. "GERTRUDE? Dear Merlin, Moony!"

"She surprise attacked me!" Remus stammered, blushing. "And I tried to push her off, but she's strong as a horse, you of all people should know that!"

"Don't remind me." James rubbed his arm. "And you, Sirius? You said 'we'."

"Did I?"

"Oh, don't you even go there! I'm still trying to clean my mind of stumbling into that broom closet!" Remus yelled accusingly.

"Remus, we weren't doing anything dirty. Get your mind out of the gutter."

"Well, walking into a closet and finding your best friend and Marlene McKinnon in a full make-out session does tend to make the mind wander!"

"True." I nodded.

"So it IS Marlene, is it?" James turned to look at me this time. "Not a bad catch, mate."

"Yep. Now, let's stop talking about girls because we're not like Piper Blake giggling over the opposite gender. So. Full moon tonight, guys..." I said.

James put on a solemn face and nodded. He looked around to make sure we were alone and pulled out the Marauder's Map. He whispered the passphrase, and the map blossomed to life. "Where're we going tonight, guys?"

"Let's not hit that pack of acromantulas again," Remus noted. He pointed at a spot on the map and said, "I think they were around here."

"We'll stay out of there, then," James agreed, making a note on the spot. "Any other things I should remember?"

"Yeah, brush your teeth once in a while, will you? I think I almost died last night when you snorted in my face," I remarked.

"Point taken. I'll have to find my toothbrush."

"As to where we should head, I think the Shack needs a visit, don't you? After that we can go around Hogsmeade for a bit."

"And after that, let's explore the forest some more. I think we've covered the school grounds and Hogsmeade, map-wise, but I'd like to see more of the forest," Remus added.

"Nothing to see but lots of darkness and leaves," James replied.

"You're only saying that because an acromantula took you full in the face with its back leg."

"Let's explore the forest a bit, yeah," I said, stopping a potential spat. James made another note.

"That should take up the rest of the night, I think," James said after he'd wiped the map clean and put it in his robes. "I also think it'll be fun tonight, don't you?"

"Yeah," I replied, nodding somewhat dreamily.

Then something occured to me.

"What about Harry?"

Remus' eyes snapped further open, and he looked at James, who had his thoughtful face on.

"We haven't told him about Remus, and he's still... too new to know about it yet, am I right?" James queried after a bit. Moony and I agreed. "Then that's decided. We should tell Peter to tell him that we're... in detention, and not to wait up for us... yeah, I think that'll work for now."

Peter materialized at James' elbow. "What? But that means I can't come on the adventure!"

"Well... Peter, sometimes we have to make sacrifices for the greater good," James replied. "We don't want Harry to find out that Remus is a werewolf, do we?"

"Make Sirius do it!"

"Sirius is very much needed, as he is one of the biggest animals - pun intended. But we really do need him becauseI can't take care of Remus by myself."

Remus looked angry that he had to be "taken care of".

"So we really need you to do it, Peter. Please?"

Peter nodded vigorously, as was his custom. "Yeah. I can do that, James."

"Thanks, Peter!" James said.

* * *

They didn't notice Peter's less-than-enthusiastic shuffle out of the room, or the fact that he was completely silent. None of them saw the sad, upset look on his face as he shut the portrait-hole slowly behind him.

* * *

**Aaaand that's the end of this chapter! Kind of felt a need to evoke a little sympathy for Peter, and OOOH FORESHADOWING YAY.**

**Sorry it's short! R&R, please. :D**


End file.
